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November 3, 2016

"The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun" Published Today

Today sees the re-publication of a Tolkien book that has been out of print for around 70 years –
The Lay of Aortou and Itroun.

The book is edited by Verlyn Flieger, as Christopher Tolkien was likely occupied with
Beren and Luthien (which is set to arrive May 2017.) The book
will be 128 pages. It is being published in the ebook and hardback
formats. At present time, there is no word or listing of a possible
deluxe edition coming. My guess is, if one were to exist,
it would be published in the deluxe format (slipcased, etc) next year,
likely after
Beren and Luthien, in the fall or winter (Aug – Dec). I’m going
to be wait a bit to get this one. If a deluxe edition comes along, then I
shall deem
Aotrou & Itroun worthy of owning a physical copy and add it
‘to the shelf’. If no deluxe edition is to exist, then I’ll get the
ebook to save space for other books. (Remember, the Tolkien books I have
‘on the shelf’ mirror which titles have a deluxe
edition available.)

The title page officially calls the book: “The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun together with The Corrigan Poems.” (sort of like how
Unfinished Tales is actually “Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth”.)

“Unavailable
for more than 70 years, this early but important work is published for
the first time with Tolkien’s ‘Corrigan’ poems and other supporting
material, including a prefatory note by
Christopher Tolkien.

Set
‘In Britain’s land beyond the seas’ during the Age of Chivalry, The Lay
of Aotrou and Itroun tells of a childless Breton Lord and Lady (the
‘Aotrou’ and ‘Itroun’ of the title) and the tragedy that
befalls them when Aotrou seeks to remedy their situation with the aid
of a magic potion obtained from a corrigan, or malevolent fairy. When
the potion succeeds and Itroun bears twins, the corrigan returns seeking
her fee, and Aotrou is forced to choose between
betraying his marriage and losing his life.

Coming
from the darker side of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination, The Lay of Aotrou
and Itroun, together with the two shorter ‘Corrigan’ poems that lead up
to it and which are also included, was the outcome
of a comparatively short but intense period in Tolkien's life when he
was deeply engaged with Celtic, and particularly Breton, myth and
legend.

Originally
written in 1930 and long out of print, this early but seminal work is
an important addition to the non-Middle-earth portion of his canon and
should be set alongside Tolkien’s other retellings
of myth and legend, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, The Fall of Arthur
and The Story of Kullervo. Like these works, it belongs to a small but
important corpus of his ventures into ‘real-world’ mythologies, each of
which in its own way would be a formative
influence on his own legendarium.”